Salvation Army overwhelmed by donations

Cash may be tightening up during the current economic downturn but the recession is not slowing down donations to two Salvation Army Thrift Stores in Fredericton.

Contributions are so numerous this fall that the Salvation Army store on the city's north side has temporarily asked people to stop donating and the south side location is considering a similar request so staff can catch up with sorting the piles of donations.

"Looking upon the donations pile, it was from the floor right to the ceiling. And it was actually flowing out to our loading area, so it's getting pretty tight for the employees," said Capt. Bradley Reid of the Salvation Army.

Reid said he isn't worried that the temporary request to hold back on donations will put a damper on future giving this season.

"They realize with the Salvation Army, the money goes back into the community, into our programming," Reid said.

Generosity has drawbacks

However, the overwhelming generosity that the Salvation Army is receiving from people in Fredericton does come with drawbacks.

The thrift stores are finding that not all of the donations are turning out to be useful.

Sharon Hachey, the manager of the south side store, said the amount of junk that's donated is increasing just as quickly.

"A lot of footwear … has the soles coming off or they're cracked or walked down, pants that the whole crotch has gone in, shirts that someone's used for painting that's no good for even a recycled item," Hachey said.

"We get a lot of beds, mattresses, box springs that are just really garbage."

Any donations that turn out to be garbage must be diverted to the Fredericton landfill.

Hachey said having to pay for all those garbage items to be shipped to the landfill eats into profits that the Salvation Army can plug back into the community through its community services.